


"The Hero of Camlorn" they called her.

by lyssajanet



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls Online
Genre: Dark Brotherhood - Freeform, Gen, mention of naryu/oc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-18 20:30:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20197699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyssajanet/pseuds/lyssajanet
Summary: There was no Hero of the Covenant. So when Faolchu and Angof ran rampant across Glenumbra, there was no hero running around kicking ass and taking names. Things got desperate, and someone contracted the Dark Brotherhood to end that undead werewolf monstrosity. And who gets sent, but none other than assassin Niriel Willowbrook, who is most certainly Not A Hero. After finishing her contract, people expect her to continue on after Angof like a good little hero.But that's not part of her job.





	"The Hero of Camlorn" they called her.

**Author's Note:**

> Niriel is the twin sister to my vestige Te'a, who is over in Dominion land being the actual hero.  
Niriel and Darien aren't romantic, but rather he acts as a sort of catalyst for her to start looking within herself regarding her morals and sense of responsibility.

“I wanted to thank you. Personally. We might have been able to retake Camlorn eventually, but it wouldn't have been quick, and it certainly wouldn't have been pretty. You saved lives, and that's not something I'll soon forget."

It wasn’t often that assassins felt remorse or guilt, but hearing the oh so brave and noble guard captain sing praises of Niriel made a rare and uncomfortable feeling take root in her gut. She wasn’t here to save lives; she was here on contract to kill the werewolf Faolchu. Her Speaker hadn’t even given her details beyond that she needed to travel to Glenumbra and end the werewolf terrorizing the land. Nothing else, and with little room for questions. Niriel Willowbrook was not the noble hero the people of Camlorn thought she was.

But they needed that thought, that idea, that projection of who and what their savior was like.

Niriel told herself the reason she kept her true purpose a secret was to protect the secrecy of the Brotherhood, but some part of her couldn’t take the hope away that they had just earned. She also hated that part of her.

Uncomfortable and stilted, Niriel responded, “Uh, thanks.” She only barely kept from summoning the Blade of Woe to toss around in her distracted state. “What will you do now?”

Darien sighed. "I'm resigning from the Camlorn Guard. They need builders now, not soldiers.” Well that was unexpected. While sneaking about Camlorn, Niriel heard multiple people speak of Darien’s skill as a tactician and with the blade. Behind all his bluster, he really did care about the people here. And he was just going to give all that up to go chase down death? “Besides, that Angof thing is still out there. Someone has to go deal with that. Unless, of course, you'd care to tempt me with a drink before I start my heroic journey?"

A drink, she could use. But she knew that wasn’t what Darien meant. Her mind turned again to the Tong assassin, before reminding herself that that was utterly impossible and would result in both their deaths if anyone found out they so much as spoke again. Even so, Niriel just didn’t have it in her for a rebound, and definitely not with someone so… noble.

“I don’t think so, Darien. You’re not my type.”

“A pity. I would have enjoyed sharing a drink with you. Ah, well.” He glanced over her shoulder at the gathering of people around his father before returning to Niriel. “Anyway I failed these people. The werewolves slipped in on my watch. I need to make sure that never happens again.”

Feeling like at any moment, Darien was going to invite her to join him on his ‘heroic journey’, Niriel spoke up. “I need to go.”

She didn’t even get two steps toward the gate before Darien was following her. “First one to reach Angof buys the first bottle of wine!” Shit. His gauntleted hand lightly grabbed her elbow to stop her and turn her to face him. She only barely stopped herself from reaching for her personal dagger on impulse. “But in all sincerity, thanks for helping us. You really are an inspiration. And I should know, seeing as I’m pretty inspirational myself.”

That was too much. “Darien I’m not,” she confessed abruptly, stepping back from his hold.

He scoffed, “Pssh, of course you are! I saw how you charged into battle with that thrice damned werewolf without a hint of fear in your eyes, how you made sure these civilians stayed safe, even if you didn’t have a personal investment in it or our town. You’re a hero to us.”

“I didn’t – I didn’t come here out of the good will of my heart.” She just couldn’t take it; all of Darien’s praises of her actions were completely wrong. Even if she knew she shouldn’t say it, she also couldn’t let Darien keep thinking she was this noble hero type who went around saving people. “Someone… hired me, to kill Faolchu.” She wasn’t sure if she wanted Darien to pick up on her wording and figure out she was Brotherhood or not. While she was pretty sure he wouldn’t snitch, Niriel knew there were consequences to saying one was in the Dark Brotherhood.

“Hired you?” Darien drew out the words in an almost comical way.

“Yes.”

Niriel could almost hear the rusted gears attempting to turn in his head. Then, “Ha! If only it was that easy all the time! Just hire out some brave soul to take care of all our problems.” It seemed that Darien either didn’t get it, or was smart enough to keep it to himself. Niriel honestly couldn’t tell which. But he still didn’t seem to get the other part of what she was trying to say.

“That means my job is over, Darien. I have to leave, report back to my boss and tell him Faolchu is dead.”

“Oh. You’re_ leaving_ leaving.” She looked down to avoid seeing the disappointment probably on his face. Then she asked herself why she cared, but didn’t have an answer. “What about Angof? Surely your ‘client’, whoever he is, if he wants Faolchu dead, would also want that stupid necromancer dead.”

Turning away to hide the cringe in her face, Niriel bit the arrow. “That’s not part of my job.”

Only the sound of Camlorn burning. Niriel wondered if the Dread Father was going to come for her soul before Darien spoke again. After too long of a pause, “Well, I suppose we can’t _force_ you to help. If anything, we should just be glad for all the work you did while you were here, even if it was just a job.”

Niriel would have preferred him yelling or calling her a soulless bastard. Then she could just tell him to fuck off and sail back to the Gold Coast without a drop of guilt in her heart. Instead she just got another godsdamned thank you. By Sithis why couldn’t this just have been a normal job? “Yeah well, I gotta head out now. Need to talk to a ship captain about when I can leave Glenumbra.”

Darien waved his hand toward the gate, not quite looking at her. “Go on then, I’m sure you’re a very busy woman. Maybe we’ll see each other around?” Niriel swore she heard a bit of hope in his voice. She already knew she would be keeping an eye on this man, what with his prophetic dreams about the dark anchors and all that strange nonsense about blindingly bright lights she read in his journal. She could only hope Astara and the others wouldn’t find out about her interest in the Breton boy.

“Maybe we will.” And with that, Niriel turned around and started for the gate.

“Just know,” Darien called out, stopping Niriel in her tracks, “A lot of lives would be saved and this mess with Angof would be dealt with a whole lot quicker if we had someone like you on our side.”

Damn that man. Damn him to the void and back. Niriel started up again, this time faster, trying to get out of Camlorn before any noble and heroic ideas of saving Glenumbra took up root.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me at partyatsanguines on tumblr for more eso nonsense and screaming about how much i love darien gautier


End file.
